Things like “dry aged” steak.
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Food spoiling is because of “bad” bacteria/fungi that multiply. Dry aging steaks is done by covering the meat and, like the name implies, keeping it in a dry environment, since molds and bacteria thrive in moist environments, the ones that cause spoiling of food dont get a chance to multiply.
The process of dry aging usually involves food getting invaded by “good” bacteria that instead of making things moldy and icky, it helps the food get tastier. This bacteria makes an acid that creates a protective coat around the food that keeps it safe to eat!
Well, in the case of your example, steak is dried in a controlled environment. They keep it at the right temperature and humidity to stop bacteria from growing. They also use a lot of salt. The same goes with aging cheeses. Salt and dry conditions allow it to age without letting bad bacteria take hold.
sometimes it does spoil. which is why they don’t have it at the grocery store.
dry aged beef has a fungus mold crust on it. the outside crust gets pretty gnarly looking and you cut that part off before you fabricate the steaks. the fungus tenderizes the meat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thamnidium
Look into fermenting! Making sauerkraut is pretty freaking easy and great for you. Salt and cabbage. Literally thats it. And time, in a not overly hot environment.
Aging food IS allowing it to spoil but in a controlled matter to allow for certain processes to occur that make the food more desirable. Whenever something spoils, there is usually a few steps involved and, out in a regular environment like on a countertop or in a forest, the process just happens quickly. When you age something to be consumed, you control as many variables as you can so the process is allowed to happen but at a slower rate. Also, you usually want to encourage certain microrganisms to flourish more than other ones and controller temp, moisture, acidity, etc allows the “good” microorganisms more chances to take control of the situation.
Your dry aged steak example is a good one because, when you do it right, you still have to cut away parts of the meat that are too bad for humans to consume because they are spoiled. BUT the inner parts become tender in a way you can’t get with conventional means. So aging is basically just controlled spoilage.
One of the things with steak is that the muscle fibers are so dense that many things can’t Pentwater deep into the tissues. It’s why you can eat steak MR but not chicken.
Aging food is done under highly controlled circumstances. You can’t just put something on the counter and let it age. Temperature and humidity are strictly controlled. The goal is to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria that could cause the food to spoil while still supporting the work of good bacteria and enzymes that are responsible for the aging process.
If you look at dry aged beef before it has been trimmed, it looks rotten. The visible meat will be nearly black in color, everything can be covered in a thick layer of mould, and until it is properly trimmed, is not something you want anywhere near your mouth.
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a17d44153b1475704affce3155577c2d-pjlq
But after it’s trimmed, you can charge $$$$ for anything that comes from it.
So dry aging meat is like what they did in the old days before refrigeration right?
I used to work in a meat department and we dry aged beef there. You use a temperature and moisture controlled hanging case. The meat does spoil on the outside. This is why when you order a dry aged cut of meat, the outside “crust” is cut off and the meat looks perfectly normal inside.
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